It is mid-winter. I want to feel a bit at home with a Wolfneck celebration. With the help of Anahita and Kãhina, who understood the tradition, she cleared some snow away and fixed a pole—really a small tree—into the frozen field outside the gate and then dragged fallen timber up to it to build a cone of timber. At midnight of midwinter, when everyone had been celebrating in the hall she made them all come out. With my husband’s magic rod I light the pile into a Bale-Fire to banish the winter and usher in the spring, as is right. The resulting blaze lit up the whole valley. There are some things of home that I miss.
~~~
As the advent of spring became more pressing, the village began to think about who would be going on the next stage of their adventure, for good or ill, and how it would be done and what they would take with them on it.
Glossary
Anne, Saint: Orthodox Christian patron of those who slay the undead and protect against evil and those who return from the dead. Her Feast Day is 25th October.
Asvayujau: Hindi goddess of good luck, joy and happiness.
Ayyappan: Hindi god of wisdom and protection.
Balter: to dance with no style or grace, but with a certain enthusiasm. The author admits to liking the word as it is how he dances.
Basilica Anthropoi: A Holy Order of warrior monks of the Orthodox Church west of the mountains. They are heavily armed and ride as kataphractoi or kynigoi depending on their role. They will bear the Chi-Rho on their shields and the leader of a group will often have a painted icon there as well.
Betterberries: one of many magical herbs, if picked at the right time each Betterberry will have a tiny amount of healing power. You can eat a lot of them.
Bezelye çorbasi: a smooth blended minted pea soup.
Borani chogondar: a chilled dish of diced beetroot and yoghurt.
Bridget, Saint: One of the most universal patrons. She has responsibility for dairymaids, compassion to the poor, and blacksmiths, as well as poets and bards. Her Feast Day is the 10th of Sixtus.
Buzuq: a Caliphate stringed instrument not unlike a mandolin.
Chi-Rho symbol: the two Greek letters joined together signify Christ. The Roman Emperor Constantine, when he was converted to Christianity is supposed to have seen a vision of this and heard the words: ‘With this sign, conquer’.
Cosmas, Saint: always associated with Saint Damien as the Orthodox Christian patrons of healing. Their images are always dressed like men of the Caliphate and they have medical tools around them. Their Feast Day is 7th Duodecimus.
Crumhorn: a double-reeded wind instrument from Freehold with an upturned end. It makes an unusual nasal sound.
Damien, Saint: always associated with Saint Cosmas as the Orthodox Christian patrons of healing. Their images are always dressed like men of the Caliphate and they have medical tools around them. Their Feast Day is 7th Duodecimus.
Devi: the Hindi mother goddess and female principle.
Dhatr: Hindi god of health and magic.
Fergus, Saint: Orthodox patron of the Kharl races. His Feast Day is the 27th of November.
Ganesh: elephant headed and rides a mouse, the Hindi god of knowledge and divination.
Harijan: one of the castes of Hindi society that you are born into and cannot leave. This is the lowest of castes, often referred to as ‘untouchables’. They deal with unclean acts such as handling dead flesh, dealing with garbage and sewerage and so on. Touching one can render a person of a higher caste ‘unclean’ and requiring cleansing.
Havuç çorbasi: a smooth blended carrot soup.
Hobgoblin: a grey-skinned humanoid and one of the Kharl-related races.
Homobonus, Saint: Patron of Cloth Workers. He shares a feast day with St John Chrysostum on 13th November.
Hummus: a dish made of mashed chick peas made smooth, usually eaten with flat bread.
Insak-div: a humanoid who is part Kharl and part-human.
John Chrysostum, Saint: Patron of Priests and those seeking a simple life. His Feast Day is 13th November and is shared with St Homobonus.
Jude, Saint: Orthodox Christian patron of the desperate and those who forlornly hope. His Feast Day is 17th Undecim. His icons always show a man in robes holding a book and an oar.
Kataphractoi: fully armoured riders on armoured horses who ride into battle in very tight formation using lance, sword, mace, bow and martobulli.
Kartikeya: Hindi god of war.
Keftethes: a spiced meatball dish usually of lamb eaten either on its own or with rice.
Kharl: a race of humanoids with several distinct subspecies. They can breed with humans.
Kindjal: a long heavy fighting knife with parallel edges that is generally close to a short sword in size and can be used the same way.
Köle: a Khitan word meaning something between ‘prisoner’ and ‘slave’.
Krishna: Hindi god of love and carnal activity.
Kshatya: one of the castes of Hindi society that you are born into and cannot leave. This is the caste of warriors, mages and rulers. It is the second highest caste.
Kukri: a thick heavy-bladed curved knife with a blade 30cm long. It will readily cut through bone and even more easily through joints. It can also be used defensively to catch another blade.
Kynigoi: riders with any level of armour riding unarmoured horses. Their primary role is skirmishing and harassing as well as scouting. They mainly use bows in combat.
Mary Magdalene, Saint: Patron of sinners and those hoping for redemption. Her Feast Day is the 4th of Quinque.
Maskirovka: a Darkspeech word from Wolfneck. It means a big deception, usually of a military type.
Month: The months (all of exactly 36 days) are most commonly given in Latin: Primus, Secundus, Tertius, Quattro, Quinque, Sixtus, September, October, November, December, Undecim and Duedecimus.
Naq: a Caliphate flute.
Paradēśī: Hindi for an outsider, a foreigner, one outside the caste system and so automatically ritually unclean.
Pesh-kabz: a knife 15-20cm long with a thin straight blade, t-shaped in cross-section. After the first 5cm all three edges are only mildly sharpened. It is needle-sharp at the point and widened in a curve into a normal blade-width at the hilt. It is designed to penetrate mail and the padding under it, forcing even riveted mail to open up. It is an assassin’s weapon.
Ratri: Hindi goddess of the night and dark.
Sackbutt: a Freehold instrument not unlike a trombone.
Services (Christian): Holy Day is Krondag. The traditional daily cycle of services is: Hesperinos or Vespers: performed at sundown, this is the beginning of the liturgical day. Apodeipnon (literally ‘after-supper’) or Compline: performed after the evening meal prior to bedtime. Midnight Office: Usually observed only in monasteries. Orthros or Matins: First service of the morning. Usually starts before sunrise. The Eucharist service or the Divine Liturgy: This is the celebration of the Eucharist. Although it is usually celebrated between the Sixth and Ninth Hours, it is not considered to be part of the daily cycle of services, as it occurs outside the normal time of the world. It is not celebrated on weekdays during the preparatory season of Lent or during other fasts. The Hours: First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth—Sung either at their appropriate times (usually only done by monks or priests with lots of free time), or in aggregate at other customary times. If the latter, The First Hour is sung immediately following Orthros, the Third and Sixth prior to the Divine Liturgy, and the Ninth prior to Vespers.
Services (Muslim): The holy day is Dithlau and the hours of prayer are: Fajr (an hour before sunrise), Dhurhr (just after midday), Asr (hour and a half before sunset), Maghreb (a few minutes after sunset) and Isha (an hour and a half after).
Shawm: a Freehold instrument, a double reed woodwind with a small barrel part-way up the stem and a conical-shaped mouth. It has a piercing, buzzing sound that is much louder than a crumhorn.
Shiva: Hindi God, one part of the Trimurtri, the Hindu trinity.
Signs: there are twelve
zodiacal signs used in magic. Each takes up the last half of one month and the first half of the next. These start with the last half of Primus and the first half of Secundus (the month of the Tiger) and go from there. The fire signs are Tiger, Dragon and Rat and their time marks Summer. The Air signs are Monkey, Bird and Butterfly and their time marks Autumn. The Water signs are Fish, Dog and Lizard and their time is Winter. Spring is marked by the Earth signs of Horse, Goat and Spider.
Sitar: a Havenite long-necked stringed instrument with a gourd like sound-chamber and twenty-one strings, only six of which are played.
Shri: Hindi for Lord (or Lady).
Sudra: one of the castes of Hindi society that you are born into and cannot leave. This is the caste of the makers, traders, tradesmen and such.
Tabouleh: a salad of parsley, mint, tomatoes
Tambouri: a small hand drum with inbuilt zils (small cymbals) in Havenite music.
Week: each week on Vhast has six days. Generally, across The Land, these are given the names: Firstday, Deutera, Pali, Tetarti, Dithlau and Krondag. Kron is the name given to the sun. The definitions and roots of some of these names are unknown.
Zils: small cymbals, usually used on the fingers in Caliphate and Havenite dancing.
Cast
Adversaries: name given to the members of a space-faring race on the surface of Vhast. They are the enemies of Gamil’s people.
Aelfgifu: 7-year-old child-slave of Dharmal’s bandits. She was born somewhere in The Swamp.
Ahmed: air mage and bandit. He controlled a flying carpet.
Aine: from Bloomact in The Swamp, she was a brewer with some ability to make wines and distil drinks. She was kidnapped and became a slave of the bandits at Mousehole, but also continued her trade. She is the oldest of the surviving female slaves.
Amin Ramanujan: junior battle mage at Garthang Keep and part of Rani’s escort north.
Anahita of the Axe-beaks: Khitan girl from Mousehole. Later she becomes Hulagu’s köle.
Astrid Tostisdottir (the Cat): A part-kharl girl from Wolfneck, in the far north of The Land. She is fleeing an unwelcome marriage to Svein. Experienced at sea and as a fisher, she became a Ranger. Attractive but for a strong jaw and lengthened incisors (she has a strong bite). She is tall and statuesque, with pale blonde hair. Her mother has been dead many years, her father is Tosti. She can lap up drinks and purrs when having sex. She marries Basil Akritas.
Ayesha: A ghazi or assassin of the Caliphate. She is one of the rare women of that culture who is allowed independence and has received an education at Misr al-Mãr as a ghazi (holy warrior). In return she must obey any order of those who are placed above her. Part of her education is to maintain her cover as an entertainer. She is the minor daughter of Hãritha, the Sheik of Yãqũsa. She is short, slim, very attractive, bright, ambidextrous and good at it and has superb senses and a beautiful soprano voice. She has black hair and eyes and a tiny waist. Good at climbing and tracking, can ride well. Usually uses knives (including to parry); can use bow and horse mace.
Basil Akritas or Kutsulbalik (nickname from great-grandfather): Is a mostly human (one sixteenth kharl) who appears as a youth just out of his apprenticeship (although he is ten years older). He is an experienced member of the secret police (or Antikataskopeía) of Darkreach and of the Orthodox faith (as it is practiced in Darkreach). He comes from Southpoint from a military family.
Bianca: foundling from Trekvarna. Vagus, can sing well and play a flute, good at working with horses (and horses love her), can cook. Intelligent and average appearance, uses daggers and sling. Can smell treachery. Swore an oath to St Ursula to avenge the death of Rosa. Horses are Sluggard, Sirocco and Firestar. Sings husky contralto.
Bilqĩs: a tiny girl, from a trade background in the Caliphate, who was kidnapped and became a slave of the bandits. She later becomes an apprentice mage.
Bryony verch Daffyd: from Rising Mud in the Swamp, newest captive at Mousehole. Her husband (Conan) and father were killed at her wedding and she was brought to Mousehole as a slave and kept as a pet by the bandit, Miriam.
Christopher, Father: A newly graduated Orthodox priest. He was born in the north of The Land at one of the hamlets of Greensin. Has a staff enchanted against evil.
Dharmal: Dwarf and leader of the brigands who attack Bianca’s caravan. He rules Mousehole and acts as the main servant of the Masters in The Land.
Dulcie: From Bathmor in The Swamp. She became a slave of the bandits and the village carpenter.
Eleanor: caravan guard from Topwin in Freehold who becomes a slave of the bandits in Mousehole. She becomes the village jeweller, marries Robin Fletcher and is left in charge of defence of Mousehole.
Fãtima: comes from an unknown background in the Caliphate, she was kidnapped as a child and made a slave of the bandits. She becomes an apprentice mage.
Fear the Lord Your God Thatcher (Fear): 6 years old, child slave of the bandits in Mousehole, becomes servant to Rani and Theodora and then is adopted as their daughter.
Fortunata: bandit slave in Mousehole and skilled dressmaker and embroiderer. Marries Norbert as his first wife.
Gamil: comes of an un-named winged space-faring race. She works on a space station. Her very long-lived people created Vhast as an experiment in breeding ‘magical’ abilities. She is the Chief Predestinator (Project Head) for the planet below her.
Gemma: 8-year-old child-slave of Dharmal’s bandits. She is from somewhere in the north.
Giles see Ploughman, Giles.
Goditha: sister to Robin Fletcher and former slave of the bandits. She has never had an interest in men, marries Parminder and becomes an apprentice mage.
Gurinder: 10-year-old child-slave of the bandits at Mousehole, sister of Parminder.
Harald Pitt: miner at Mousehole. He marries Lakshmi.
Hãritha: the Sheik of Yãqũsa in the Caliphate and father of Ayesha.
Hrothnog: The immortal God-King of Darkreach.
Hulagu: A young Khitan tribesman with ten toes. His tribe and totem is the Dire Wolf. Skilled bushman, tracker and hunter, very intelligent, he has very acute senses. Uses bow, mace and shield, lance and darts. He can teach. Has a destiny predicted by Nokaj. His horse is Kirghiz, plus two horses from bandits.
Kãhina of the Pack Hunters; slave of the bandits in Mousehole, she has ten toes and is a cousin of Malik. Later she becomes Hulagu’s köle.
Lãdi: slave and chief cook at the bandit village of Mousehole.
Lakshmi: Havenite slave girl in the bandit village of Mousehole. She was a prostitute in Sacred Gate before being captured. Converts to the Orthodox religion and marries Harald Pitt.
Malik: a hunter of the Pack Hunter clan who helps Bianca and Hulagu defeat the bird demons and then escorts them to Evilhalt. He is also Kãhina’s cousin.
Masters: A group of undead mages of unknown power who have control over Dwarvenholme and other areas.
Miriam, Princess: many time grand-daughter of Hrothnog and cousin of Theodora. She is married as first wife to Hassan, third son of Sheik Abdul Mohammed ibn Hasid, ruler of the Caliphate.
Naeve Milker: Former Freehold dairymaid, slave in the bandit village of Mousehole. Can become catatonic under stress, she becomes an apprentice mage and marries Giles.
Norbert Black: male slave of the bandits in Mousehole. He is skilled as a blacksmith, weapons smith and armourer. Marries both Fortunata and Sãjah.
Parminder: former child slave of the bandits in Mousehole, she marries Goditha and is sister to Gurinder. She becomes an apprentice mage and is a xeno-telepath.
Ploughman, Giles: farmer and one of the few male slaves at Mousehole. He marries Naeve.
Rani Rai, Shri: A woman of Kshatya (warrior) caste in Sacred Gate, capital of Haven who is both an astrologer and a battle mage. She has a minor post at the University. Her grandmother is a fortune-teller and her mother is a minor water mage. Destined to love and marry Theodora. Horses are Lakshmi and Juggernaut.
Robin Fletcher: one
of the male slaves of the bandits at Mousehole, he is kept as their fletcher and bowyer.
Roxanna: 8-year-old Caliphate slave of Dharmal’s bandits in Mousehole.
Engaging Evil (Warriors of Vhast Book 2) Page 38